HyperOne, the new national fibre backbone project founded by Bevan Slattery, has doubled the number of “on- and off-ramps” it has planned for the network to “more than 2000”.
The fibre transmission network was announced in February this year as a $1.5 billion project that would have “more than 1000 ‘on-ramps’ in regional and remote Australia, enabling underserved communities and remote areas” to access the high-speed infrastructure.
In a statement, HyperOne revealed that the network will now “include more than 2000 on and off ramps across regional areas, providing many communities with access to backhaul fibre for the first time.”
HyperOne hopes that “NBN Co and broadband providers” will make use of the transmission network “to improve their offerings to consumers”.
Slattery said existing fibre transmission networks “effectively bypassed many of the communities along their route, offering no way for people in regional areas to connect.”
“In many cases, you have communities with backhaul fibre right under their feet but have no way to access it and are stuck with subpar broadband or satellite connections,” he said.
“That won’t happen with HyperOne. This is a true national network, not a capital city network.”
Slattery saw “enormous untapped potential” in regional Australia that “quality digital infrastructure” access could unleash.
“The opportunity is there - and I think we are going to see an explosion in regional economies over the coming decades as we work to close the digital divide between major cities and country areas,” he said.
“The Covid experience has shown us that, in many industries, people can work from anywhere - provided they have fast and reliable internet.”
Construction is expected to start “soon” with the network completed in 2024.
